Sean Whitaker, BA, MSc, MBA, PMP How the Profession of Project Management Can Deliver a Successful Business (of any type!) Sean Whitaker, BA, MSc, MBA, PMP
Outline Goals An introduction to the profession of project management Portfolio and Program management Project management tools and techniques for success Organisational project management maturity An increased awareness of the profession of project management. How to appropriately apply the right bits of the profession. How to ask the right questions of practitioners. How to have a more successful organisation by using portfolio, program and project management.
What the Research Says “When a project and program management mindset is embedded into an organization’s DNA, performance improves and competitive advantage accelerates. In fact, the projects of high-performing organizations successfully meet goals two and a half times more often, and these organizations waste 13 times less money than their low-performing counterparts.” source: PMI Pulse of the Profession 2015
The Profession of Project Management A Brief Introduction and Overview
The Current View Many people see project management as an ancillary set of skills held by other professions e.g. engineers, architects etc Project management is a profession in its own right with professional bodies (e.g. PMI), professional certification (e.g. PMP), tertiary education (e.g. Masters of PM) and ISO standards (e.g. ISO21500). When applied appropriately it can deliver organisational operational and strategic success.
“Appropriately applied professional project management practices add both tangible and intangible value to an organization.” Source: Researching the Value of Project Management, M Mullaly & N Thomas
Being Appropriate Project management is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is a flexible profession, and its application depends on the industry, size, complexity, duration of your projects and your particular organizational culture. The key to project management success is appropriately applied professional project management – what is ‘right’ for you will be different from what is ‘right’ for another organisation.
What Do Good Organisations Do? Organisations that have successfully leveraged the benefits of the profession of project management: Are more likely to achieve strategic goals; Deliver successful projects over 95% of the time; Learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat them; Recruit, reward and retain the best practitioners at all levels; Have appropriate project management processes, methodologies, tools, techniques and structures in place Gain a great reputation with clients for delivering as promised
Organisational and C-Level Support The Essentials Organisational and C-Level Support Portfolio & Program Mgmt via a PMO Competent Practitioners Methodology or Methodologies
Projects delivered by competent Project Managers Your Current State Your Future State Your Strategy
Portfolio & Program Management Successful Top Level Project Management Practices
Portfolio Management Successful portfolio management means successful organisations Portfolio management optimises the selection process with transparent and accountable steps to ensure only the right projects get chosen, prioritised and funded Organizations that only choose projects which deliver strategic goals (or match documented core competencies) are much more successful Also, there is a focus on improving organisational project management maturity and practitioner competency
Prioritized and Approved Portfolio of Projects
Program Management Program management provides services and functions to the organisation and practitioner, such as: Establishment of an appropriate Project Management Office (PMO) Development and continuous improvement of an appropriate project management methodology (or methodologies) Providing support, training, sponsorship and governance to the project manager Inter-project resource management and conflict resolution Provide standardised reporting across the organisation
Your PMO Your PMO (Project Management Office) will reflect your current and aspirational level of project management maturity. International research has clearly found that organisations with any form of PMO outperform organisations without a PMO. Possible functions: Recruitment Training Auditing Methodology development Reporting Allocation of practitioners Improvement Governance & Sponsorship
Project Management Successfully, and Repeatedly, Managing Projects
Project Management There are international standards and frameworks to draw your own particular and appropriate approach to project management from, i.e. The PMBOK® Guide or ISO21500 You can be a full time or part time project manager but don’t be an accidental project manager. There are many great training courses and accreditations that any person managing any sort of project should attend.
Project Manager A competent project management practitioner can deliver: Defined project selection and initiation processes Scope definition tools and techniques Better (i.e. more accurate) cost and time estimating tools Tracking of actual time and cost against estimates Appropriate assessment and documentation of changes Timely and accurate project reporting Risk management Quality assurance and control tools Open communications and stakeholder management Team leadership and and management Project closure processes and lessons learned
Professional Community Support There is ongoing development of an international standard, ISO21500 Guidance on Project Management The fastest growing sector of tertiary education globally is the delivery of graduate and post-graduate degrees in project management. The Project Management Institute (PMI www.pmi.org) is a global professional body providing: Ongoing research and conferences Documented body of knowledge (The PMBOK® Guide) Professional certifications (e.g. PMP, CAPM, PgMP, PfMP) Local representation with PMI New Zealand (www.pmi.org.nz)
Tools
Organisational Project Management Improving the entire organisation
OPM You should do a check on where you are at with your level of organisational project management maturity, e.g. P3M3, 4Q, OPM3 and our bespoke model. You will get a score of organisational project management maturity, usually on a scale of 0-5. Then use this information to figure out where you should be (not everyone needs to be a level 5). Commit time and resources to appropriate improvement.
Methodology No matter how large or small, simple or complex, frequent or occasional your projects are, you should have a standardised, documented, discoverable and appropriate project management methodology (or methodologies). The alternative is to make stuff up as you go along and everyone does things differently. You can make your own one up (we have a free card game to help) or get one off-the-shelf and modify it.
What You Can Expect Project success rates above 90% Happier clients and repeat business Greater staff retention More efficient use of organisation resources Greater profits Better reputation Strategic success
Summary Do you have any questions before we end this webinar?
Recommendations Regardless of your size or industry: Develop and implement an appropriate PMO Develop an appropriate and flexible methodology/methodologies Invest in practitioner competency development Get top level support within the organisation Always improve!
Useful Websites www.pmi.org www.projectmanagement.com www.projectmanager.com www.trello.com www.liquidplanner.com www.basecamp.com www.wrike.com www.projectlibre.com www.psoda.com
Thank You Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Sean Whitaker Ph: 021 633592 sean@crystal.consulting
About Crystal Consulting We know about organizational and practitioner project management capability and we want to help you be better at both. We have worked with organizations of different sizes, different industries and differing levels of maturity all around the world. Our primary focus is upon providing the following: Organizational project management capability assessment, review and development P3M3® Assessments and improvement plans PMO development, improvement and audit Project review, health check and rescue Practitioner capability and competency assessment Project management methodology development, improvement and audit Seminars, training, workshops and webinars for practitioners of all levels We also offer a range of project management consulting services all designed to help you be more efficient and more successful at delivering portfolios, programs, and projects. Contact us to discuss your needs and find out how we can help.